Hook conveyors



April 28, 1959 LEACH 7 2,884,116

HOOK CONVEYORS Filed Jan 16, 1956 INVENTOR.

Unite Sttes Patent HOOK CONVEYORS John M. Leach, Port Washington, N.Y. Application January 16, 1956, Serial No. 559,233 3 Claims. (Cl. 198-177) The present invention relates to conveyors. More particularly, it relates to conveyors of the type where successive trolleys or the like are connected together by suitable linkages.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a conveyor of the successive trolley or carrier type with interconnecting linkages which can be linked in place or disconnected from the trolleys or carriers at any point in the conveyor system without deflecting; bending or deforming any load carrying area of the conveyor, either with or without the taking of slack, as distinguished from tension relief; in the conveyor system.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the preferred form of the invention proceeds.

For a more detailed description of the invention, referenbe is made to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout and in which;

Figr 1 is a side elevational view of a trolley conveyor embodying the present invention;

Fig.2 is a side elevational view of a single conveyor trolley showing the connecting linkages of the present invention in more detail;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the trolley shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view of a section of the body of the trolley of the conveyor of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the half sleeves of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a view showing the procedure for connecting the linkages of the present invention to the body of the trolleys.

The preferred form of the present invention has been shown used in connection with a conveyor of the type covered by United States Letters Patent No. 2,609,082; issued September 2, 1952, to John M. Leach; covering a Hook Conveyor. It is to be understood that the linkage of the present invention can be used with other types of conveyors with equal facility.

The successive trolleys forming a typical overhead con veyor system are shown in Fig. 1 with the trolleys designated 10. Each of the trolleys 10 consists of a plate 12 formed of any desired material. The plate 12 is provided with a hook hole 14; a pair of vertical supporting wheels 16, and, if desired, a horizontal wheel 18.

The plate 12 is provided with openings on each side 20 which are substantially in the shape of a cross formed with a horizontally extending opening 22 and a vertically extending opening 24. These openings may be conveniently formed by stamping at the same time all the other openings in the plate 12 are formed.

The linkage of the present invention consists of a straight body 26 provided on each end with an eye 28. The member 26 may be conveniently formed of a piece of round steel rod and have the eyes 28 formed by turning loops on the ends with the extremities 30 welded at points 32 to the main body of the linkage. The linkage may be otherwise formed as by stamping from a single piece of metal, forging from a single piece of metal, etc.

A half-sleeve 34; see Fig. 5; is suitably provided as by sawing a metallic tube in half or by forming a half-sleeve from a straight metal strip. The half-sleeve is of vertical size to just fit within the vertical opening 24 in the plate without looseness.

In assembling a linkage into a trolley, the half-sleeve 34 is placed within the eye 28 of the linkage 26 as shown in Fig. 6. The linkage 26 with the half-sleeve 34 in the position shown is moved so that the eye 28 slides into the horizontal opening 22 in the plate 12. The half-sleeve 34 is then rotated so that one side slides into the vertical opening 24 and is then rotated further until the halfsleeve takes the position shown in Fig. 3. The halfsleeve 3 is then, if desired, simply locked in place as by crimping the extending ends 38 and 40 together towards the plate 12 to prevent vibration from rotating the halfsleeve 34 out of position. It can be seen that the linkage 26 is thus firmly locked to the trolley plate 12.

In the position of assembly shown in Fig. 3 the eye 28 of the linkage 26 has a substantial surface contact with the half-sleeve 34 at point 42 which materially increases the wear life of the linkage and sleeve. The eye 28 is also free to pivot horizontally about the sleeve 34 as well as have limited rotation vertically so as to make a very eiiective and durable universal joint at the point of connection between the linkage and the trolley. Also, the fact that the sleeve 34 is semi-circular in cross section gives it exceptional strength against bending so that the strength of the connection between the eye 28 and the half-sleeve 34 is greatly increased.

If at any time during the operation of the conveyor it becomes necessary to replace a trolley for any purpose, the trolley can be replaced by rotating the half-sleeve 34 until it leaves the slot 24. The trolley can then be removed and a new one installed as explained above without necessitating the taking of slack in the conveyor chain or linkage. This is of great importance as conveyors are frequently of considerable length and taking of slack is a difficult and time consuming operation.

The linkage of the present invention makes it possible to assemble the conveyor chain and to disassemble or remove trolleys at any desired point in a minimum of time. This marks a considerable advancement in the conveyor art because existing conveyors require several inches of slack to be taken before the chains, cables, etc., can be removed from their seats and fastenings.

Various changes in the arrangement size and shape of the various parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the present invention and the scope of the appended claims.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

l. A conveyor comprising spaced apart trolleys, linkages connecting successive trolleys together, each linkage comprising an elongated member provided with an eye section on an end, each trolley being provided with a body having two substantially parallel sides and a slot with closed ends and an intersecting slot extending through the body from side to side, the eye section of the elongated member being positioned in the said intersecting slot and a half sleeve positioned in the said slot with closed ends and extending through said eye.

2. A conveyor comprising a trolley plate having two substantially parallel sides and a vertical slot with closed ends, the plate also having a horizontal slot intersecting the vertical slot and extending to one edge of the plate and forming an opening therein, both slots extending through the plate from side to side, a link for connecting two trolleys together, an open eye on an end of the link extending into said horizontal slot through the said open- 3 4 ing, and a half sleeve positioned in said vertical slot and ing, and a half sleeve positioned in the said vertical slot extending through said eye. and extending through said eye and crirnped against said 3. A conveyor comprising a trolley plate having two plate to lock itself in position. substantially parallel sides and a vertical slot with closed ends, the plate also having a horizontal slot intersecting 5 References Cited in the file of this patent the vertical slot and extending to one edge of the plate and forming an opening therein, both slots extending UNITED STATES PATENTS through the plate from side to side, a link for connecting two trolleys together, an open eye on an end of the link 210041321 Hay June 1935 extending into said horizontal slot through the said open- 10 2,47 80 Hamilton Aug. 23, 1949 

